Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1142

“Two pair.”

“Straight.”

“……Flush.”

“Full house!”

“…….”

Freya’s forehead veins bulged.

Taking a deep breath, she checked her new cards and shouted,

“Four of a kind!!”

“Royal straight flush.”

“You!!!”

Bang!!

Unable to contain herself, Freya slammed the table and jumped up.

Her face flushed with anger, she glared at the clown who was grinning across from her.

“You son of a bitch, if you’re going to cheat, do it moderately!!! Are you trying to mess with me right now?!!”

“Reya. You still don’t understand.”

The clown chuckled, holding his cards.

“I always do my best, no matter how weak my opponent is.”

“Do you really want to die?”

Boooooooom-!!

A deep, slow foghorn sounded.

The cruise ship powerfully set off, cutting through the river.

A dinner party was taking place on the deck of the luxurious ship.

Musicians played instruments on the stage, and waiters carried drinks.

Dealers and customers exchanged cards at the poker tables set up on the deck.

And in the midst of it all, the clown and Freya were bickering.

Lenox watched the scene from the rooftop balcony of the ship, overlooking the deck.

Tap!

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“…….”

The clown, who had been playing with Freya just moments ago, was now leaning against the railing next to him.

The clown looked tired as he rubbed his face and tilted his head back as if he might fall off the balcony.

“Haa… I shouldn’t play with those guys for too long. I made a mistake.”

“It looked like you were enjoying it more than anyone else, not like a mistake.”

“I was going to adjust the luck a little, but their reactions were so funny that I failed to control my power.”

The clown chuckled and glanced at Lenox.

“That’s why I can’t quit gambling. There’s a reason why that entertainment city never fails. Don’t you think so too, Victor?”

“…….”

Lenox ignored the question and looked at Talkerphuz receding into the distance at the end of the waterway.

Although it was slightly different from what the clown had mentioned, Lenox also felt something about the city of Talkerphuz.

“The Syndicate VIP who discovered Kamrodal’s corpse. In the end, no one showed up except Spero.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“They deliberately tried to avoid contact with us. That must be why Raymond stepped forward himself.”

Lenox’s gaze, which had been fixed on the glamorous casino hotel, turned cold.

“They didn’t show up until the end and remained unresponsive. They’re hiding something.”

It was one of the VIPs who frequented the auction house who discovered the corpses of the 8th Apostle that the Order’s priests were secretly smuggling.

However, none of the other VIPs except Spero showed up at the auction house in person.

They even handed over the disposal of Kamrodal’s corpse, which they had discovered, to Pandemonium through Raymond.

Lenox suspected that the VIPs’ actions were because they were hiding something.

Even the fact that they were trying to hide a certain ‘secret’ in Talkerphuz from Pandemonium.

“The Syndicate’s people are quite unique in many ways.”

The clown nodded.

“I remember that Raymond used to have a useless position like the 4th seat of the Special Forces Unit.”

“……That man was the 4th seat of the Ability Awakening Special Forces Unit?”

“Well, what does it matter to us what they’re hiding?”

The clown tilted his head towards Lenox and grinned.

“If there’s a problem, we can always visit Talkerphuz again later. This time, Victor was too busy to fully enjoy the entertainment facilities of Talkerphuz, right?”

“…….”

“I’ll set a date next time and give Victor a Talkerphuz SS-class casino tour. By then, Victor will be completely immersed in the fun of gambling-”

“Hey!!”

At that moment, a sharp voice was heard from down the hallway, and the clown’s figure vanished with a pop.

“Victor, is that bastard here?”

“……Freya.”

Freya, wearing a fancy dress, stood at the end of the hallway, holding a wine glass in one hand.

Looking around suspiciously with an angry expression, she approached them.

“That swindler, I’m sure he ran this way. Where did he disappear to again?”

“…….”

“Ah, I’m so annoyed… All the guys who talk to me on the deck are irritating too.”

Freya leaned against the window next to Lenox, grumbling and sipping her wine.

“I have to put up with it because we have to go to Kabahim together. What kind of event is this, a royal capital tour or a field trip?”

The reason why the clown gathered the members in Talkerphuz was not for anything else.

If they went up the huge river that continued from Talkerphuz, they could directly reach the vicinity of the Kabahim royal capital.

Kabahim was a monarchy that strictly restricted and managed the entry of outsiders, but conversely, that was why there was a considerable demand for tourism.

Therefore, Talkerphuz, which treated everything as a commodity, had a tour course that went back and forth near the Kabahim royal capital by cruise ship.

The cruise ship that the clown had obtained through a deal with the Syndicate was the ship that included this schedule.

Passengers who participated in the tour were only allowed to stay in designated areas of the royal capital, and they were only allowed to see the scenery of the royal capital for a short time before returning.

Nevertheless, the customers who visited the entertainment city seemed to be paying a huge amount of money for this tour.

The customers chatted merrily on the deck below. The sound of music drifted lazily through the windows.

Lenox, who was looking out the window next to Freya as she sipped her wine, asked,

“It would be risky to hold a performance in the middle of the royal capital.”

Lenox turned his gaze.

“What is the reason you took part in this operation, taking such a risk?”

“Wow, what?”

Freya laughed.

“How little interest do you have that you’re only curious about that now? Did you eat something wrong?”

“…….”

“Well, it’s complicated to explain……”

Freya, who had finished all her wine, said, leaving Lenox without an answer.

“First of all, I owe the clown a debt. And I use musical scale magic to sing.”

“Is it about the song?”

“It’s hard to say it myself, but I give several useful blessings. That’s why everyone bothers me more than necessary.”

“…….”

“I have a bad personality, you know. I want to live my whole life doing only things that are fun.”

Freya said, looking out the window with a hazy gaze.

Freya swept her hair back and gave a cold smile.

“But if I keep performing, I think singing will become boring. So, I found another way before I quit.”

“Is that why you joined Pandemonium?”

“Why, isn’t it fun?”

Freya laughed.

“I hate being bothered and restricted unnecessarily. I’d rather do this.”

“…….”

“For that, it’s worth investing a little time like this.”

“That’s a lie.”

At that moment, a nonchalant male voice echoed from behind Freya.

Freya’s hair stood on end, and she jumped up on the spot.

“Kyaaaaak!! W-what is it!!”

“The sympathetic nervous system in your body is more active than usual.”

The Grafting Sorcerer, who was standing behind Freya, said.

“Your blood, breathing, and pulse are changing to a different pattern than usual, indicating symptoms of stress. It’s evidence that you’re feeling emotional changes.”

“What the hell is this crazy bastard saying all of a sudden!!!”

Freya kicked the Grafting Sorcerer’s shin, but the Grafting Sorcerer’s expression was calm.

“The vocal power of a musical scale sorcerer is amazing. There was a slight eardrum damage momentarily. Or is it just that my hearing in this body is weakened?”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”

Lenox turned to look at the Grafting Sorcerer, who was lost in thought.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was just looking around.”

The Grafting Sorcerer said, looking around the cruise ship with a nonchalant gaze.

“It’s been too long since I removed my right brain, so my sensitivity is too weak. I’m observing other humans to awaken my senses.”

“…….”

“However, there are not enough cases here that stimulate my curiosity. Bodies soaked in alcohol or nicotine are just ordinary flesh.”

The Grafting Sorcerer looked at Lenox and Freya, his eyes gleaming.

“As expected, the humans of the Demon Realm are the only ones who can stimulate my interest to some extent.”

“What is this stalker bastard saying?”

“…….”

The Grafting Sorcerer they met at the first gate didn’t seem to have this kind of personality.

No, but his unique analytical tone and expression were exactly the same as the Grafting Sorcerer Lenox remembered.

Is it because only the Grafting Sorcerer’s right brain exists here that he seems subtly different yet similar?

Of course, the left brain of the Grafting Sorcerer that Lenox killed had his own body, so it wasn’t impossible to explain the sense of incongruity-

“Ah!!!! I remember who you are.”

At that moment, Freya pointed her finger at the Grafting Sorcerer with a face that said she had thought of something funny.

“I heard something about you…! You’re that guy from the Alliance, the Grafting or something!!”

“It seems you’ve heard of me.”

The Grafting Sorcerer replied with a nonchalant expression.

“However, there is a lot of limited information about me that has been circulated outside the Central Front. In the first place, the Alliance’s Information Department thoroughly manages the information of the Grafting Sorcerers under its command-”

“You’re the guy who got his ass kicked by Chun-beon at the first gate, right?”

“…….”

The Grafting Sorcerer’s eyebrows twitched as he momentarily closed his mouth.

The Grafting Sorcerer turned to Freya and glared at her, opening his mouth.

“There is a slight inaccuracy in that statement. First of all, it was not me who was defeated at the first gate.”

“What?”

“Moreover, the ‘me’ stationed at the gate was also in a situation where many of my abilities were limited. Even considering the output buff under the assumption of receiving support from the Life Domain, the sorcery performance that could be operated was about 85% of the original. That means I had to fight Chun-beon with a penalty of about 15%.”

The Grafting Sorcerer calmly rattled off.

“To be more specific, let’s assume that I was grafting Michal Zhelikh’s right brain onto my body at the time. In that case, it is highly likely that my combat performance was greatly reduced due to the overload of the grafting sorcery and the rejection reaction that accompanies the grafting of another person’s brain hemisphere. This was clearly a very fatal variable in the process of fighting a powerful magician like Chun-beon.”

“…….”

“If we infer the combat situation at the time, it is highly unlikely that I, who was guarding the gate, would have attacked Chun-beon first. It is highly probable that the battle proceeded in the form of Chun-beon launching a surprise attack on his left brain, and the battlefield expanded. Considering these variables overall, the outcome of the battle was ultimately-”

“What the hell is he talking about since a while ago.”

Freya gave a cold sneer.

“So, did you lose to Chun-beon or not?”

“…….”

“The rumor is that you got your ass kicked in the Central Front, why are you making excuses so pathetically? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“Manipulator.”

The Grafting Sorcerer turned his gaze to Lenox.

“Is it okay to kill this woman now?”

“Kyaaaaak!! Help me!!”

Bang!!

At the same time as Freya screamed, a door burst open from the back of the rooftop.

Soryu looked at the three people standing on the rooftop balcony with a dumbfounded expression.

“What have you three been doing there since a while ago?”

“…….”

“Nothing.”

Lenox, who had been completely ignoring the two people’s nonsense, got up.

It was interesting that the Grafting Sorcerer had inferred the battle at the time quite similarly, but there was no way he could know the truth.

However, the fact that the Grafting Sorcerer, who seemed completely uninterested in the outcome of the fight, was surprisingly concerned about Chun-beon was something to note.

“Is the preparation complete?”

“Yes. The meeting preparation is complete.”

Soryu said, looking at Freya and Chapman.

“You two come in too. I’m going to explain the operation one last time before tonight is over.”

“I was going to do that even if you didn’t explain it?”

“You’re handling the operation planning poorly, as expected of a small organization. If the Alliance knew about this-”

Soryu ignored the Grafting Sorcerer’s words and turned his back, and Freya walked away, nervously sweeping her hair back.

The control room of the cruise ship heading to the Kabahim royal capital.

The members of Pandemonium were gathered in a large space with complex navigation devices and instrument panels.

The clown and Lenox. Freya and Soryu. Agneta and Chebien. And Antares and the Grafting Sorcerer, who participated in the operation as outsiders.

At this moment, eight people who would never have met by chance were gathered in one place.

Just maintaining silence without saying a word made the huge space feel full.

“Well, since everyone’s here, shall we start right away?”

The clown, who arrived last, grinned and pointed at the instrument panel.

“As you can see on the navigation chart, this ship will arrive at the port near the back gate of the Kabahim royal capital in about 6 hours. So, this is probably the last time we’ll gather before starting the operation.”

“…….”

“In Talkerphuz, we were able to sort things out with the help of Hylea, but from now on, it will probably be difficult to contact the outside world for a while.”

Was the clown organizing the situation himself this time because he couldn’t receive Hylea’s briefing?

The clown, who had walked forward, pressing his temples with both hands, shrugged his shoulders.

“This is because of the city-scale ‘blessing’ that is placed throughout the royal capital, and this is actually a very tricky thing for people like us who have a shady past.”

“Exactly what part is tricky?”

“To put it simply, it’s a very powerful buff given to a knight who has made a specific oath with a geas [a magical vow or binding]. It’s a power that explosively increases the target’s ability by setting various conditions-”

The clown, with a bothered expression, turned his gaze to Soryu.

“Well, there’s someone who knows much better than me, so shall we listen to his story? It’s definitely not because my mouth hurts.”

“It is a blessing given by making the oath of a knight who protects the royal capital a geas. It is a limited blessing that only applies within the royal capital to knights who are loyal to the royal family, but it has tremendous power.”

Soryu answered without hesitation, as if he had expected it.

“To put it extremely simply, it’s a power that makes a level 6 knight comparable to a level 7 ability user. It is, in fact, the most powerful advantage in protecting the royal capital, and it is also the reason why Kabahim is still a monarchy.”

“…….”

“In Kabahim, there are ten knight orders directly under the royal family, and these are superhumans who receive the most powerful blessings in the royal capital. All of the knight order commanders are level 7 or higher ability users, and some of the top-tier experts are monsters that transcend the hierarchy-”

Soryu, looking at the group with a cold expression, said,

“There’s no need to beat around the bush. Confronting them head-on in the royal capital will be suicidal.”

“Heh heh, it seems that even a banished royal still has some patriotism left……”

Chebien chuckled, rattling his doll.

“There isn’t a single ordinary ability user among those gathered here, but isn’t it an overestimation of the knight order’s power?”

“That might be the case if we assume that we are facing one knight order on our side. But that is a point that does not take into account the environment and structure of the royal capital.”

Soryu replied.

“The city area throughout the royal capital is designed very precisely and intricately, and this is the result of a design only for the knight order to move quickly inside the city.”

“If a battle situation occurs during the operation, it means that it is a foregone conclusion that we will be surrounded by several knight orders.”

“It is an operation to infiltrate the capital of a country full of elite superhuman groups that are thoroughly specialized in combat. There is a high possibility that there will never be a situation where we can match the numbers and fight throughout the operation.”

Soryu nodded at Agneta’s words.

“We should refrain from direct confrontation as much as possible for our purpose. Even in the worst-case scenario, we must deal with everything before reinforcements arrive.”

“Even if we put aside the knight orders, the most dangerous one is still the ‘king’.”

The clown, leaning back in his chair, tore open a piece of gum and put it in his mouth.

“The current monarch of Kabahim. Aronbaiger Kabahim is a level 8 superhuman and, at the same time, a rare dual-system holder.”

“Dual-system holder?”

Naturally, the members’ gazes turned to Lenox.

Manipulation and Space.

Because there was only one sorcerer in Pandemonium who could handle two extremely difficult systems at the same time, even within the Special Traits system.

“…….”

“What are you looking at?”

Lenox, who had replied sharply, adjusted his mask and turned his gaze away.

“In the first place, there are too many exceptions in the sorcery system, so it is difficult to find any connection in either direction. It has nothing to do with me.”

“I’ve never heard of a dual-system holder. Is it different from the multi-attribute holders that are sometimes found among magicians?”

“Yes. It’s different. Having a dual system means that you have two different hierarchies, literally.”

The clown grinned and held up his fingers in a V-sign.

“So, of course, you have two different source images. You also have two different microcosms and magnetic fields, right?”

“……Wait, that’s.”

“It’s a power that is commonly called the ‘talent of duality,’ and if you really dig into it, it’s a very difficult and annoying ability.”

The clown sighed exaggeratedly and laughed.

“Most people can’t control their talent and become split personalities, or they can’t manage the two divided hierarchies and never escape the low hierarchy for the rest of their lives, but this guy is a bit different.”

“If he is a level 8 superhuman, it means that he has already overcome those limitations and built up his own achievements.”

The Grafting Sorcerer tilted his head with a nonchalant expression.

“In the best-case scenario, the Alliance judged that he was likely to have two level 8 domains or microcosms.”

“Hey, loser. Are you crazy? That’s not the best-case scenario, it’s the worst-case scenario.”

“Anyway, this talent of duality is such an annoying power that I’m going to use my power this time.”

The clown, sitting backwards on the chair, tilted his gaze.

“Considering Aronbaiger’s nature, he will try to ‘look into’ us as soon as we enter the royal capital, but I’ll just take care of that from the beginning.”

“You’re planning to use illusion magic to deceive the monarch’s eyes.”

Lenox asked.

“Do you think it’s possible against a level 8 superhuman?”

“Just because he’s a dual-system holder doesn’t mean I have to deceive both of his eyes. Once I cover one eye, how will he know whether it’s a secret or the truth with the other eye?”

The clown held his hand vertically, covering half of his face, and grinned.

“That brief confusion is enough of a trigger. It’s going to be a very difficult story to explain, so just trust me for now.”

“…….”

Of course, none of the members in this place trusted the clown’s boastful words.

The clown, looking at the members who were lost in thought, stretched and got up from his chair.

“Let’s just organize the basic goals and direction, and adjust the detailed process on-site. First, let’s organize each of our roles before entering the royal capital.”

“Goals? What goals are you talking about?”

Freya, who was combing her hair, asked back.

“Wasn’t the goal to attack the gate in the basement of the royal capital?”

“Simply opening and attacking the gate is not the end of this matter.”

The clown, turning his back to the control room, looked back at the members and grinned.

“A ‘dead god’ is sleeping in the basement of the Kabahim royal capital.”

“……What?”

“It is the remnant of the ending, a shooting star that grants ‘wishes’ in itself, and it is also the driving force that supports the country of Kabahim.”

The clown said,

“Our goal is to open the [Gate] in the basement of the royal capital, go inside, and steal the ‘dead god’.”